Awkward
by Eloquently Awkward
Summary: Suddenly, Yugi realized that if he and Tea were ever going to be together, he had to make his move, or he believed he would lose her forever  Peachshipping with hints of Puzzleshipping and other pairings, oneshot.


"Awkward"

(A Yu-Gi-Oh oneshot by Katie McN. (MorrieNymph/DunsparceBiscuits))

(YGO isn't mine, don't sue me, I have no money.)

The first few weeks without the Millennium Puzzle were awkward to say the least, in the case of Yugi Muto. His neck certainly felt lighter, that's for sure, but that went hand in hand with the emptiness he now felt inside. He no longer shared his body with a 5000-something year old Egyptian Pharaoh, or a mind. One would think a guy would be happy to have these things all to themselves again, but Yugi just felt an ache in his heart as if he had lost a parent, a brother, a friend. A partner.

He _still had_ his friends, of course. Joey and Tristan seemed to get over it quickly enough and moved along with their lives, Joey thinking about becoming a mechanic and Tristan about joining the military after they all graduate. Yugi still wasn't sure what he would do; you can only be the world champion of Duel Monsters for so long before you get bored of it. Maybe he'd become an archeologist – he already had an interest in Ancient Egypt before he had even completed the puzzle, so it made sense.

Then, there was Tea. Yugi completely expected her to avoid him or want nothing to do with him at all. Yet, he was closer than ever to her; likely because she felt the loss the hardest next to Yugi himself. He honestly believed that Tea was in love with the Pharaoh, and losing him broke her heart just as much as it broke his, maybe even more. Even so, Yugi's own feelings for Tea hadn't changed – he was just as much in love with her now as he was before. If anything, Yugi wanted Tea to see in him what she had seen in Atem, yet, he couldn't bring himself to tell her how he really felt about her.

That is, until she decided that she would apply to schools in _New York City_, to study dance. Suddenly, Yugi realized that if he and Tea were ever going to be together, he had to make his move, or he believed he would lose her forever. Even if it meant dealing with the ordeal of a long-distance relationship – thankfully, the internet made those a lot easier these days, with instant messaging and whatnot. An opportunity soon presented himself in the form of Mokuba Kaiba's 13th birthday party.

There Yugi was, in the mansion his once arch-rival turned begrudging friend and his little brother (that Yugi was thankfully still a little taller than, for now) lived. He wasn't surprised at the slightest by how big and fancy it all was, for he was far too focused staring at the marble floors, to his black boots in sheer nervousness. He was dressed rather casually, just a hoodie sweater and some loosely fitting jeans (after wearing tight leather pants for so long, he needed a break). He thought that maybe he could've dressed up more, but then he realized, _this was a 13-year-old's birthday party._ Regardless if said 13-year-old was rich or not, there was really no need to dress in a suit and tie.

Of course then, older brother Seto Kaiba looked overdressed wearing just that. Mokuba leaned over to Yugi after greeting him, thankful that his brother hadn't thrown on a blazer, and at the very least was wearing jeans to at least _try_ to be casual. Seto didn't say much to the short, multicolored hair youth in front of him, but at least acknowledged his presence with a hello that sounded more like a grunt, and at least softened the expression on his face for a moment. Of course, though, Seto's face quickly hardened again with Joey and Tristan barging in and grabbing Mokuba by the neck and shoulders, ruffling the poor kid's hair and greeting him vivaciously.

And then there was Tea, who followed them in with Joey's sister Serenity in tow, scolding the other two for being so rough with the prepubescent Kaiba brother. Yugi felt a lump in his throat at the tiny, strapless black dress she wore, how it was snug in all the right places. Her hair, which had grown a little past her shoulders by now, had been pulled back into a ponytail, her bangs brushed to the side and held in place by a little blue hair-clip that cleverly matched her eyes. And when they made eye contact, Yugi could have sworn the world had stopped turning for a second before she smiled at him. Where had he seen that smile before?

Oh, that's right – that's the way she used to smile at Atem. He had almost completely forgotten about her crush on the Pharaoh. It almost hurt him to remember, but he knew the Pharaoh had never quite reciprocated her feelings, especially since she was Yugi's crush. _I would never hurt you like that, partner,_ he would tell him softly, _I know that she is the one you feel the strongest for, and I would never come in-between the two of you_.

And now, that smile was directed at him, almost as if Atem had somehow redirected his old friend's attraction onto him. Awkwardly, Yugi smiled back at Tea, walking over and greeting his friends. He couldn't help that his voice was just a little higher then usual, that the hands he had hidden away in his pockets were shaking and sweaty at the palms. Here he was, waiting for an opportunity to arise, where he could take his best friend aside and tell her that his feelings were _so much stronger _than mere friendship. As often as she would preach about the importance of it, his heart couldn't take being kept at bay any longer. He was going to tell Tea his feelings, one way or another tonight.

A few hours passed by when a chance finally arose; Tristan, Joey, Mokuba and a fashionably late Duke were caught up in a game of Smash Brothers Brawl while Seto and his new 'girlfriend', a white-haired girl by the name of Kisara, looked on. The older Kaiba sibling encouraged his brother whist mocking Wheeler, causing the blonde to lose his focus several times. The others were off conversing on the other side of the room, possibly about what they had been doing, or where Mai has been. Yugi came over to Tea and softly asked her if he could have a word with her. She smiled at him softly before complying, and the two walked together in silence down the hall to an empty room.

The room turned out to be some sort of den or library; there was a bookshelf that looked fairly often used (Seto was a big reader) and a neatly placed sofa with a coffee table in front of it. The two friends sat next to each other on the sofa, a few inches apart from one another. Yugi looked up at Tea, the lump in his throat returning as their eyes made contact. Yet, before he could even say a word, she spoke.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you, Yugi," with those words, just like that, Yugi felt his knees start to shake. The conversation could go in all sorts of different directions from here, he knew, and he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she wanted to tell _him_ something.

"I-I've been wanting to tell you something, too, Tea." he breathed, jumping a little when he felt her hand graze his softly, before gliding over his wrist and sliding into his. Her hands were so soft, her fingers small and thin but not bony. There was an awkward silence between the two of them before Yugi egged her to go first. Tea took a deep breath before speaking.

"I've been thinking...if I go to New York, to study dance and...well, I want to know if..." she sighed, looking away from Yugi to the carpet on the floor. How had he not noticed that she was just as nervous as he was?

"Tea, it's okay. I'll still be here." he murmured, brushing his thumb against her knuckle comfortingly. She looked back at him, her eyebrows furrowed, pouting slightly.

"I know you will...I just...Yugi, I've always kind of..._liked_ you. I didn't really realize it until after I could tell the difference between you and...well, _him_." she spoke, tone lowering towards the end, at the mention of their friend that was no longer with him.

"O-okay..." Yugi struggled to come up with much more to say than that. Was she about to tell him that she loved Atem? Even though he was gone out of their lives until they ended? He felt his heart ache a little at the very thought, and wished that he was actually here at this moment.

"But...once he was gone...I did a lot of thinking. At first I thought that my heart was broken because I...I loved him...and don't get me wrong, I cared for Atem a lot, really. But...in reality I realized that it wasn't him. I have a lot to thank him for, because you wouldn't be who you are if it wasn't for him. He gave you a lot of strength, Yugi, he gave a little to all of us." she whispered, gripping Yugi's hand a little tighter. Yet, he couldn't contain his nerves any longer, and without so much as a thought of the consequences that he'd face for it, Yugi leaned across to Tea and kissed her on the lips.

It was as awkward and chaste as any first kiss could possibly get. Yugi's lips practically mushed Tea's, and they both held their breath through the whole thing to the point where when they broke apart, they both gasped for air. There was another moment of silence, the two looking away from each other with flushed faces, yet their hands remaining intertwined. It was a few seconds before Yugi gathered the courage to break the silence.

"Tea, I love you," he breathed, before a hand tilted his head back towards Tea's, before her lips came crashing against his. The second kiss was much less chaste than the first, as was the third, fourth, and so on. Without even realizing, Tea had pushed Yugi onto his back in the process of their make-out session and was straddling him, her long legs on each side of his waist, her hips ever so hormonally pressed against his. They didn't realize until they were called back to reality in the form of a hooting and hollering Joey and Tristan.

"Oh man, Yug, I didn't think ya had it in ya buddy!"

"Holy crap, it's about time you guys! HEY EVERYBODY, IT FINALLY HAPPENED! YUGI AND TEA ARE _TOTALLY_ ALL OVER EACH OTHER!"

Before Tea jumped off Yugi to attack their friends with her now-removed high-heel shoes, he could have sworn he heard Seto yell at Mokuba to 'get the damn camera'. Once she got up, he sat up rather quickly and grabbed one of the sofa's pillows, plopping it onto his lap and hoping that the tightness in his pants went away as soon as possible.

It was awkward, yes, but he smiled to himself as he realized, he wouldn't have had it any other way.

/fin/


End file.
